


How They Met

by panicked_introvert



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Backstory, Being Lost, Childhood Friends, Children, Crying, Flashbacks, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jeremy and Michael are smol bean children, M/M, Origin Story, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, along with some fluffy romance, but in a part where they're older, this is basically how they met
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 00:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13939005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panicked_introvert/pseuds/panicked_introvert
Summary: Michael hated field trips. Unlike every other kid in his second grade class, he despised field trips with a burning passion. On one of these dreaded field trips, he gets lost in a corn maze with the new boy in his class, Jeremy. As they search for the exit, a friendship begins to develop between the two...





	1. The Maze

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this in a rush, so sorry if it sucks. This work will only have three or four chapters.

Michael hated field trips. Unlike every other kid in his second grade class, he despised field trips with a burning passion. Most children would be ecstatic at any chance to escape the dullness of an ordinary school day. But for Michael, field trips only opened up more opportunities for him to be reminded how much everyone hated him.

On every field trip, Michael went through the same painful routine- first, he would get on the bus, ignoring the glares of the other students who refused to let him sit with them as he made his way to the very back. There he would sit alone, ignoring the happy murmur of conversation and the occasional insult directed his way. Upon arriving at their destination, the teacher would have all the kids pick a buddy to stay with for the entirety of the field trip. None of the other children would pick Michael to be their buddy, so the teacher would have to pair him up with an unwilling student who would either complain the entire time or constantly torment him, kicking or punching him whenever the teacher wasn’t looking. If they had lunch before they went back to school, at least one student would find an opportunity to dump food down the back of his shirt as he sat alone at a table.

Therefore, field trips were the bane of Michael’s existence. So he wasn’t exactly pleased when their teacher announced there would be a field trip to the farm in a week. While all the other kids spent every free moment talking about the trip, Michael chose to completely ignore it, praying that by some stroke of luck it would be cancelled.

* * *

 The day of the field trip, Michael noticed something different when he walked into the noisy classroom in the morning- sitting by the teacher’s desk was a student that he had never seen before. The boy had overgrown curly brown hair that partially covered one of his eyes, which were the brightest blue Michael had ever seen. He had on an oversized navy sweater and was tugging at the hem nervously as his eyes darted around the room.

Curious, Michael sat down at his desk, keeping one eye on the boy as he pulled out a book. He put the book on his desk and pretended to read, looking up at him every few seconds. For a while, the boy didn’t notice him- he was too busy taking in his surroundings as he swung his legs back and forth. But eventually he looked straight at Michael, their eyes meeting. His face turning slightly red, Michael quickly looked down at the desk. When he finally managed to look back up, the boy had a small smile on his face. Grinning to himself, Michael looked back down at his book.

At that moment, the teacher walked into the classroom, clapping her hands to cue quiet. “Good morning everyone! Today we have our big field trip to the farm…” She waited for the students to stop cheering before continuing. “Before we get on the bus, though, we have a new student joining us today!” She turned to the boy sitting by her desk, who slowly got up and shuffled to the front of the class.

“Now, would you like to tell us about yourself?” the teacher chirped.

“Um… hi. I’m Jeremy. Jeremy Heere. I just started here… um, that wasn’t supposed to be a joke. I guess… I like video games.” Jeremy looked down at the ground. “That’s pretty much it…”

“Well, we’re all very excited to have you in our class!” The teacher smiled. “Now, everyone, let’s get on the bus and get ready to leave!”

As the students filed out into the hallway with their jackets, Michael managed to make his way up to Jeremy, tapping him on the shoulder. “Hi…”

“Hi.” Jeremy smiled shyly. “Who are you?”

“I’m Michael.”

“Really?” Jeremy’s eyes lit up. “I have a hamster named Michael! That’s so funny!”

“You have a hamster? Lucky.” Michael pouted as the two walked down the hall together. “My parents won’t let me get pets.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“They think I’m not mature enough,” Michael sighed. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“I think it means acting like an adult,” Jeremy suggested. “They want you to act more adult-like.”

“Adult-like? How do I do that?”

“Well… you have to just act like a grown-up. Talk about taxes and junk,” Jeremy replied, putting his hands in the pockets of his coat.

Michael laughed. “I don’t think that’s what they mean…”

The two continued to talk on the bus ride to the farm. Michael had never had someone to sit with on the bus before, so sitting with Jeremy was extremely exciting for Michael. He was intent on being buddies with him once they arrived at the farm. But the instant he stepped off the bus, Jeremy was immediately led away by Brooke, who squeezing his hand so hard it looked painful. Sighing with disappointment, Michael stood by himself, shivering slightly in the cool fall air and watching as the other children paired up with each other.

Sure enough, eventually the teacher paired him up with someone. This someone just happened to be Mark- one of the worst bullies in the entire elementary school. As soon as the teacher walked away, Mark kicked Michael’s leg and leaned close to his ear. “Don’t even think about saying anything.” And Michael sure as hell wasn’t going to.

* * *

 

As the class traveled throughout the farm, Mark took every opportunity to kick, punch, hit, or insult Michael. Michael tried his best to ignore Mark’s taunts, trying his best to think of something- anything -else. But when his class went into the corn maze, he had taken all that he could. About ten minutes after they entered the maze, Mark licked his finger and rubbed it on the back of Michael’s neck. A split second later, Mark was on the ground, whining about a scraped knee.

As the teacher knelt down to deal with Mark, the other children huddled around, chattering about God knows what. There was an unexpected downfall to Michael’s plan- Mark was being so annoying that it was taking forever to the teacher to deal with his injury. Michael groaned- at this rate, they wouldn’t be able to finish the maze, and they would have to go back to school. He decided to take things into his own hands. When he was sure no students were looking, he quickly took off down a path of the maze. _This is gonna be awesome! I’ll get to do it all by myself and prove how “adult-like” I am… this is gonna be so cool!_

But ten minutes later, Michael was curled up in a ball on a wooden bench in the maze, crying his eyes out- he was completely, hopelessly lost. After wandering the maze for what seemed like forever, he realized every stalk of corn looked exactly the same, providing him with no way to know where in the maze he was. He had been screaming his teacher’s name so long his throat hurt, but every time, the only response he was met with was the barely audible echo of his own voice. There was dirt and dust on his face and jacket from when he had fallen once, and his feet were throbbing in their too-small shoes.

 _What if nobody finds me?_ Michael thought. _What if I’m stuck in here forever? I don’t wanna die in here!_ His stomach already hurt from sobbing, but he couldn’t stop due to his fear and exhaustion. At this point, he didn’t care if Mark would be extra mean to him- he just wanted to be back with his class, no matter how much they tormented him.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused Michael to raise his head as someone walked around a corner to the dead end where he sat. To his shock, it was Jeremy, looking like he’d just run a marathon. He walked up to Michael. “Are you okay?”

“No! I’m lost!” Michael wailed. “What are you doing here?”

“I was trying to find you,” Jeremy replied, sitting down next to him.

“Why would you do that?” Michael sniffed, rubbing his eyes.

“Because you’re my friend, silly!” Jeremy smiled, putting an arm around Michael’s shoulders.

“...friend?” Michael asked quietly. Jeremy nodded in reply, and Michael managed to smile a little. “We’re friends?”

Jeremy nodded again. “And I’m going to help you get out of this maze!” He hopped off the bench and held out his hand to Michael. Michael clambered off the bench and grabbed Jeremy’s pudgy six-year-old hand in his own. The two made their way down a path of the maze together. Michael shared a smile with his newfound friend, and he knew that no matter what, they would stick together. They would help each other no matter what.

 


	2. Fidget Spinners and Friendship

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Michael asked, gripping Jeremy’s hand tightly.

“Of course I do. See that piece of corn with the orange kernel?” Jeremy pointed at the aforementioned corn. “I’ve seen that one before. We’re going the right way.” The truth was, Jeremy had absolutely no idea where they were. He was pretty sure they were even more lost than before. But he had to appear confident for Michael; otherwise, he was sure the boy in the red jacket would start crying again.

Ten minutes later, Jeremy couldn’t help but sigh as they ended up at yet another dead end. Michael made a small sniff, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. “I hate this! I just wanna be out of this stupid maze!”

“Calm down! Don’t worry, we’re gonna get out of here,” Jeremy said, turning to face Michael.

“But what if we’re stuck in here forever?” Michael whimpered. 

“We’re not gonna be stuck in here forever. Look, let’s take a break right here. I have something that will make you feel better.” Jeremy sat down on the ground, and Michael sat down next to him, still sniffing. Reaching into the pocket of his coat, he pulled out a light green and strangely-shaped object.

“What is it?” Michael asked, leaning closer to examine the object.

“Fidget spinner. It’s supposed to help with stress.” Jeremy balanced the fidget spinner on one finger and spun it. Michael’s eyes grew wide as the fidget spinner lit up as it spun around on Jeremy’s finger. Jeremy laughed at the other boy’s response. “I just bought it because it lights up, though.”

“That’s so cool!” Michael giggled. 

“I know, right?” Jeremy smiled. “I think it’s helping your stress…”

“I guess…” Michael adjusted himself so he was sitting cross-legged in the dirt, still smiling as the fidget spinner slowed down and eventually fell onto the ground. He picked it up and spun it around in his fingers, a huge grin still on his face.  

“Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you want to go into the maze by yourself?” Jeremy asked, tilting his head to the side. 

“Well…” Michael looked down at the ground. “Mark was making a big deal out of nothing and was holding everyone up. I thought that he would take too long and we would have to go home… but I also wanted to do what you said. Being more ‘adult-like.’ But that didn’t work…” Michael sighed. “All I did was get us lost. I’m an idiot…”

Jeremy frowned. “Don’t say that! You’re not an idiot.”

“Yes I am! I should have known that I would have gotten lost…” Michael sniffed, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand.

“No you’re not! If you were an idiot, I wouldn’t have come after you!” Jeremy whined. “Stop saying that!” He put his arms around Michael in a tight hug, but quickly pulled back when he felt the shorter boy tensing up. “I’m sorry… I didn’t ask if you wanted me to do that…”

Michael shook his head. “It’s fine. You just startled me.” He smiled, tugging at the sleeves of his coat. “I like hugs…”

Jeremy laughed. “You’re funny.”

“I am?” Michael asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Yeah!” Jeremy laid on his back in the dirt, a wide grin on his face.

“Oh...” Michael could feel his face turning slightly red. No one had ever called him funny, or anything remotely nice, before. Whispering a quiet “thank you,” he laid down next to Jeremy on the ground, taking his hand into his own again. He let out a content sigh, looking up at the overcast sky. “It looks like it’s gonna rain soon…”

“Yeah…” Jeremy looked up at the looming grey clouds. “I don’t like being out in the rain, but I just like staying inside and watching it.”

“Me too!” Michael smiled contently, looking over at Jeremy. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“So… are we… friends?” Michael asked, scared of what Jeremy’s response might be. He had asked people to be his friend many times, and they had all responded by attacking him with insults- Freak. Loser. Stupid. Idiot. And a few more that were…  _ colorful _ … to say the least. He tensed up, waiting for one of the familiar insults to be thrown his way.

But to Michael’s surprise, Jeremy responded with, “Of course we are!”

“Really?” Michael blinked a couple of times.

Jeremy nodded. “You’re the first person who was nice to me. Plus, you’re pretty awesome. I’d say you’re my friend!”

“Thank you!” Michael smiled, happy tears welling in his eyes. Before he could do anything else, he heard a rustling in the corn behind him. He quickly sat up, turning around and staring at the wall of the maze. “I heard something…”

Jeremy sat up as well, rubbing the dirt out of his hair. “What was it?”

“I don’t know…” As Michael spoke, another rustle came from within the corn. Making a small whimper, Michael backed away from the source of the sound, hiding behind Jeremy. Jeremy stood up, grabbing a long, frail stick off the ground and holding it in front of him a a weapon. Before either of the boys could do anything, one of the maze employees burst through the wall of corn, a GPS in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other. Michael let out a small shriek, covering his face with his hands.

Jeremy dropped the twig. “Michael, it’s okay! It’s a worker! We’re not lost anymore!” He helped Michael up as the maze employee talked into the walkie-talkie. Michael smiled weakly, keeping his grip on Jeremy’s hand and nuzzling his head into his shoulder as the employee led them through the maze to the exit. 

When the two boys finally exited the maze, their teacher immediately dashed up to them. “What on earth were you two thinking?”

Michael sighed and decided to come clean. Before he could even open his mouth, Jeremy spoke. “It was my fault! I wanted to go into the maze by myself, and Michael didn’t want me to so I made him come with me. I’m sorry.” He lowered his head. As the teacher reprimanded Jeremy while the entire class stared and giggled, Michael was in shock. Jeremy took the blame for him…

Eventually, the class got onto the bus to return to school. As Jeremy sat down in a seat at the very back of the bus, Michael slid in next to him. “Thanks…”

“It was nothing.” Jeremy wiped a patch of condensation off the window and looked out as the bus slowly drove away from the farm. 

Michael yawned, putting his head on Jeremy’s shoulder and putting his hands in his pockets. Feeling a piece of cold metal in his pocket, he grabbed it and pulled out to reveal the fidget spinner. He held it out to Jeremy. “Here.  I forgot to give it back to you.”

“Hm?” Jeremy looked over and saw the fidget spinner. “Oh. You can keep it.”

“No, I couldn’t. It’s yours.”

Jeremy closed Michael’s fingers over the toy. “Please. You can keep it. I think you’ll get more use out of it than me.”

Michael put the fidget spinner back in his pocket as he closed his eyes. As he did so, he felt Jeremy put an arm around him. Smiling to himself, he nuzzled into Jeremy’s shoulder as he slowly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, I'm still going to be adding chapters! All of you guys seem to like this... (◕ᗜ◕)


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